


A Long March

by GreenBanana19



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Anakin Skywalker Needs a Hug, Anakin is distracted by his own grief and is kind of being a jerk., CT-7567 | Rex Needs a Hug, Gen, Hurt CT-7567 | Rex, Kix calls Anakin out, Post-Episode: s05e20 The Wrong Jedi, Rex is Tired, Umbara (mentioned)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-07-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:40:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25612999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GreenBanana19/pseuds/GreenBanana19
Summary: In the first campaign after Ahsoka leaves the order, Anakin is struggling with his grief and ignoring the needs of his men. Rex is just trying to keep his men safe.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, CT-7567 | Rex & Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 4
Kudos: 50





	1. Rex POV

**Author's Note:**

> I don't own Star Wars.
> 
> I just wanted to see Anakin and the 501st in the wake of Ahsoka's departure.  
> Anakin is OOC, but it's on purpose due to his grief.

Rex was tired. He and the rest of the clones of the 501st were marching behind General Skywalker through thick forest on the outer rim world of Ontum. As Rex stared ahead at the General, he couldn’t help his eyes straying to the side, where the perky young Togruta that the 501st had grown to love should be. But not anymore. Rex sighed. He understood Ahsoka’s anger at the injustice of how she was treated, but he wished she had given a little more thought before leaving, how much it would hurt the clones under her command. And how much it would hurt her master! General Skywalker was usually an amazing General who was very considerate of his troops. But now, with Ahsoka gone …   
The 501st had been marching at top pace through challenging terrain for days, without nearly enough time to rest. The General was obsessed with reaching the capitol and overtaking it as soon as possible, but he seemed to be forgetting that clones could not use the force to replace sleep like Jedi could. Rex looked back at his troops, noticing the weary slump of their shoulders and the dragging of their feet. They had been marching at this pace for more than 10 hours straight already, far too long. And they hadn’t had longer than a few hours break at a time in days. Rex was just as tired, if not more so. He had been tired even before this campaign from attempting to deal with the paperwork left behind by Ahsoka, paperwork that now fell to him. Well, it technically should have fallen to Skywalker, but Rex knew his General was in no state for more work emotionally.   
Rex’s arm throbbed. They had encountered a droid squadron in the forest the previous day, and a blaster bolt had grazed his arm. Several of the men had obtained minor injuries from the ambush, but they hadn’t had time to do more than put on bacta patches before General Skywalker had them moving again, much to Kix’s annoyance. The aforementioned medic was in fact currently pushing his way through the ranks up to Rex.   
“Yes Kix?” Rex asked, continuing his pace.  
“Captain, the men really need a break. We can’t keep up this pace much longer. It’d be detrimental to everyone’s health”  
“I know, Kix, but the General is very determined to get to the capital as soon as possible.”  
“Can you talk to him? He usually listens to you.”  
“I’ll try, but … the loss of the Commander hit him hard. He doesn’t seem to be paying much attention to any of us. I’ll do my best.”  
As Kix fell back into the ranks, Rex pushed forward, coming alongside General Skywalker.  
“Sir?” Rex asked, looking at his General. Skywalker’s eyes were filled with determination and anger, and it took effort for Rex not to pull back when those dark pits turned on him. ~He’s not Krell. He won’t hurt you.~  
“Sir,” he continued, “The men need a long rest. Kix was telling me that it could pose a problem to the men’s health if we don’t stop.”  
Skywalker turned his eyes back ahead. “We need to take the capital.”  
Rex closed his eyes, fighting the urge to fall over in sleep. “I know sir, but all the men need sleep. We can’t keep up this pace forever.”  
The General sighed. “Alright. We can break for the night at that bluff up ahead.”  
Rex smiled tiredly, turning around to his troops. “Alright men,” he bellowed, “We’ll break for the night when we reach that bluff!” Everyone’s relief was palatable. Rex certainly couldn’t wait to get some sleep. He hoped his General would sleep too, but doubted it. He’d barely slept since Ahsoka left a week before. Rex sighed and kept marching toward the bluff.


	2. Anakin POV

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Anakin realizes what he's doing to the troops.

Anakin still couldn’t believe she was gone. Ahsoka, his wonderful padawan, had left him. His fist clenched in anger he couldn’t release into the force. No. Don’t think about that. Just keep moving forward. Capture the capital city of this force-forsaken planet. Don’t stop, don’t look back, just keep going. He reached the bluff that he had told Rex they could break for the night at. He swallowed down his frustration at pausing. He wasn’t being fair to the men, he was pushing them too hard, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He saw them start setting up camp, but - he couldn’t, just couldn’t stop. If he did, it would all crash down on him. Maybe he could use this time to scout ahead.  
Anakin turned to his captain. Rex saluted sharply.  
“Rex, I’m going to use this time to scout ahead. Grab your gun and come with me.”   
Anakin saw his captain’s eyes close for a second and his shoulders droop before answering strongly. “Yes sir!”  
But before either of them could go anywhere, the medic Kix came up to them. He’d apparently been listening the whole time. “No.” He stated calmly.  
Anakin stared at his medic askance. “What do you mean, no? We need to take this capital, no time to waste, so Rex and I are going to scout ahead!”  
Kix didn’t budge. “I mean no. I’m responsible for the safety of the men, and I can tell you that you are both too tired for that to be safe.”  
Anakin sputtered. “I’m fine! We need to do this. I - We can’t stop!”   
Kix sighed angrily. “Look, I know you’re angry about Commander Tano, but that does not mean that you can work us clones until we die! We need sleep and rest and time for medical attention, we aren’t Separatist droids -”  
Rex cut Kix off with a hand on his shoulder. “Kix, calm down. He isn’t Krell.”   
The last part was quietly whispered and probably not meant for Anakin to hear, but the force fine-tuned his senses. That threw him for a loop. Krell … Krell had treated the troops like trash, had been a traitor, had killed dozens of men. Was he really acting in a way to be compared to Krell?  
His eyes widened as he looked closely at the troops setting up camp. They were sluggish, far too quiet. Some were applying bacta patches - injuries from the previous day, untreated because he hadn’t given time for them to be treated. The troops were dirty, downtrodden, and exhausted. And it was his fault. He looked closer at Rex too. His captain’s eyes were sagging closed, and he was swaying on his feet. There was a blaster mark scored on the armor of his arm, and Anakin could see some blood. How had he not noticed how tired his captain was? And he had wanted Rex to go on a scouting mission with him, and Rex had agreed, because Rex would willingly follow Anakin anywhere. How had he been so caught up in his own grief as not to notice that he was working his troops to death!   
Rex swayed even more, Kix putting a hand on the captain’s uninjured arm to support him. Anakin mentally shook his head in disbelief at his own willful blindness. “I - I’m sorry, I didn’t notice how tired everyone was. You’re right Kix, we should all stay here and have a break. I - I didn’t mean to hurt all of you. Rex, get some rest.”  
Rex smiled tiredly. “Thank you sir!” He gave a weak salute before Kix practically dragged him off to sleep, the captain not even resisting in his exhaustion. Anakin slumped heavily on a rock. As he stopped moving, it crashed in on him how tired he was. She’s gone … But, even as he thought that, he knew Ahsoka would be horrified if she had been there to see how exhausted the troops were. He had a lot of emotions to work through, but he wouldn’t take them out on the troops, not anymore. And maybe he’d get some sleep himself - he couldn’t lead his troops to success if he fell asleep during a battle. He walked off to set up his tent, resolving to stop dwelling on the past and do better going into the future.


End file.
